Plant spray



Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

UNITED STATES CHARLES I. DILLEB, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

PLANT SPRAY.

llo Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. 1211mm, a citizen of the United States,residm at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster, tate of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plant Sprays; and Ido hereby declare the followlng to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to the spraying of plants and includesimprovements in the spraying composition itself and in the method ofapplying the s ray.

Plants rece ve their car on from the air by absorbing carbon dioxideinto the leaves and synthesizing organic compounds by the action ofsunlight and the chlorophyll present in the leaves of the plant. The gowth of the plant is thus dependent in large measure on thephotosynthesis of carbon compounds in the leaves and other can parts ofthe plant and it is essential to the proper growth and health of theplant that this process should be unimpaired. The synthesis of carboncompounds depends of course on the intensity and duration of thesunlight falling on the leaves and also depends largely on the conditionof the sap within the leaves which forms the medium in which synthesistakes place and also depends on the amount of carbon dioxide which isabsorbed from the air. This latter absorption takes place through fineducts in the leaf, the so-called stomata and during the active life ofthe plant there is a constant pulsation in the leaves which-serves thepurpose of increasing the absorption of car- ,bon dioxide which isintroduced through the stomata. The rate of pulsation varies largelyduring the day and also with the health of the plant. In general, theabsorption is greatest in the early morning of sunny days in summer andin the case of a clear s day will usually reach a maximum abou 9 a. m.

The efiici my and the rapidity of photosynthesis ithin the leaf dependsin great measure 0 the liquids and solids which are circulated throughthe leaf. I have found that there are present in the leaf sap certaingranular odies of microscopic size which I have called chromatingranules. The concentration of chromatin granules in Application filedJanuary 27, 1925. Serial No. 5,152.

the leaf sap bears a direct and positive relation to the efiiciency ofthe photosynthesis in the leaf and to the health of the plant ingeneral. These granules may be noted by properly sectioning and stainingleaves and examining them under the microsco e, and I have observed thatvigorous healt y plants show a relatively large number of chromatingranules per cubic centimeter, whereas lants of the same species whichare not 1n a healthy condition possess a greatly diminished number ofchromatin granules per cubic centimeter. A healthy plant may have asmany as .700 chromatin granules to the cubic centimeter of sap whereasthe same plant when not in a healthy condition may show as low as-onequarter the number of chromatin granules which are present in health.

I do not know just how the chromatin granules afl'e'ct the efliciency ofthe photosynthetic and other reactions taking place in the plant leafand I do not desire to limit my invention by anytheoretical explanationof the action of the chromatin granules.

The production of chromatin granules and the effectiveness of thephotosynthetic process 1n the leaf is also greatly aided by the presenceof enzymes elaborated by certain of the'bacteria which are naturallyspecific to the plant.

According to the present invention I use a spray which containsbacterial enzymes and chromatin granules in a form ca able of readyassimilation by the leaf throug the stomata. f

I have found that the concentration of enzymes and chromatin granules inthe spray varies with different plants and in general depends on theleaf structure. A hard leaf containing a relatively small amount .ofmesophyll requires and tolerates a stronger concentration of spray thanplants having softer leaves and containing relatively larger amounts ofmesophyll. For example, tobacco plants require but one half theconcentration which may be used with healthy roses. In myinvestigations, I have found that the rough inverse proport onalitybetween mesophyll and concentration of spray holds good over a largenumber of plant The concentration of spray which may be used is alsodependent on the health of the tion with alcohol.

plant to be treated and appears to be roughly proportional to theconcentration of chromatin granules. For example, a sick rose plant cantolerate not more than one half the concentration which could be usedwith the same plant when in a healthy condition;

A further object of the. invention is to prepare a powder containingenzymes and chromatin granules in a form which keeps readily and can beeasily incorporated with sprays. It is a further advantage of thepresent invention that the enzyme and chromatin granule powder can beemployed with most of the common insecticidal sprays such as Bordeauxmixture, lead arsenate and the like and it can be eiiectively combinedwith the insecticidal treatment.

According to my invention I select leaves or seeds of plants which bytheir vigorous and healthy growth, chlorophyll content and microscopicstructure show themselves to be in a healthy and vigorous state andcontain a maximum number of chromatin granules which. should be close tothe figure of 700 per cubic centimeter for healthy plants. The leavesarethen introduced into an incubating medium and incubated to produce avigorous vegetation of the bacteria and a correspondingly copiousproduction of enzymes. Any of the ordinary incubating media may be usedbut I prefer to incubate in an inorganic medium as described in my priorPatent No. 1,254,808, October 5, 1920. Then the bacteria are in theirbest state of vegetation, which can be determined by observing a drop ofthe culture under a microscope, the maximum amount of enzymes are iproduced and I may separate the enzymes from the culture by any of thewell-known methods, such as for example, by precipita- Ttake about 1250cc. of liquid enzymes and chromatin granules and absorb in a dried andpulverized inorganic solid, such as for example, silica, potassiumsilicate, calciumcarbonate, phosphate rock or the like and the productis then dried. I prefer to use an amount of inorganic solid so that thefinished product weighs about 5000 grams after being dried. While I havefound that the above proportions yield a -very satisfactory andeffective product, it

should beninderstoool that my invention is not limited. to the specificproportions which may be varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The pulverized dry powder, which should preferably be about 200 mesh,will keep almost indefinitely as the enzymes and chromatin granules arerelatively insensitive in their dried state. The powder is always readyfor mixture with water or a spray and may be put out in unit packages tofacilihate the preparation of sprays or" definite concentration by theuser.

To prepare the spray for use the fine pow neeaeee der is evenlysuspended. in water or an insecticidal spray, such as for example,Bordeaux mixture, lead arsenate or the like and the spray is thenapplied to the plant, care being taken to adjust the concentration ofenzyme and chromatin granule powder in the spray to the character of theplant and their condition of health. I have found that in generalhealthy tobacco plants require a spray containing about 4 ounces of theenzyme powder to 50 gallons of spray. Roses usually take about doublethe amount or 8 ounces to 50 gallons.- However, when the plants aresickly, the concentration should be considerably reduced. For example,roses which are sickly, should be first sprayed with about halfconcentration used for healthy plants, that is to say about 4 ounces per50' gallons. As the roses become more healthy Which may be determined bynoting the red shoots of new growth or by examining a section of leafunder a microscope to determine the number of chromatin granules per0a., the spray can be increased in concentration.

I have found that it is advantageous to use the sprays in quantities ofabout 100 gallons per acre spread of plants although these figures maybe varied somewhat.

If it is desired to cause a greater amount of spray than gallons peracre to stick to the leavesof the plant, any of the usual materialsemployed to increase the adhesive- .ness of the spray, such as glue,molasses, calcium sulfate and the like maybe added to the spray of thepresent invention without afieeting its efficiency.

lit-i) Theellectiveness of the spray is greatest at periods when theactivity of the stomata and pulsation in the plant are at their maximunnT have therefore found it desirable to spray the plant in the morning ofclear sunshiny days. lit should be understood that the spray can beapplied at any time during the day though with decreased ellectiveness.

The efi'ects of the spray of the present invention have proven verybeneficial in'use with a large number of 'difi'erent plants and aconsiderable increase in growth as Well as health and resistancetodisease of the plant may be noted. The noticeable efiects of the sprayconsist in an increase in greenness of the leaves and increased growthof new shoots as well as an increase in the concentration of chromatingranules present in the sap of the plant. The treatment of the presentinvention may also ethcaciously be employed in treating plants which aresickly and the results in improved plant health and increase in growthare notable. The concentration of spray used should, however, beregulated so as to avoid the use of too iconcentrated sprays on thesickly plant. For example, T have found that the roses which are sicklyand show practically no new growth when treated with a spray containingabout 4 ounces of enzyme and chromatin granule powder to the 50 gallonsshow a rapid improvement and in about ten days or two weeks the increasein chromatin granules is about 400% and the plants show red shoots andincreasingly green leaves indicative of healthy plants. Stronger sprayscan then be used with a corresponding increase in effectiveness.

The invention has been described in connection with specific figures asto amounts an concentrations, but it should be understood that thesefigures are illustrative merely and that the invention is not limited tothe specific proportions setforth, as naturally the concentration of thespray varies with the plants and also the amount used per acre dependsto a considerable extent on the physical characteristics of the plant.-

In the claims the expression plant bacterial enzyme is used to coverenzymes elaborated by the bacteria which are specific to the plant.

I claim:

1. A plant spray comprising a suspension of dried plant bacterial enzymeand chro matin granule products in a liquid medium.v

2. A plant spray comprising a suspension of dried plant bacterial enzymeand chromatin granule products in an insecticidal spray.

3. A plant spray comprising a suspension of rial enzyme and chromatingranule products in 50 gallons of a liquid medium.

4. A plant spray comprising a suspension of about 4 to 8 ounces of dryplant bacterial enzyme and chromatin granule products in 50 gallons ofan insecticidal spray.

5. As a new product a dry powder consisting in dried plant bacterialenzyme and chromatin granules associated with a pulverulent solid.

6. The method of preparing a bacterial enzyme chromatin granulev productwhich comprises selecting plant bacteria and chromatin granules,incubating to the point of maximum vegetation, separating the enzymesand chromatin granules, absorbing about 4 to 8 ounces of dry plantbacte-' the resultant product in a dry pulverized solid, and drying theproduct.

7. The method of preparing a bacterial enzyme chromatin granule productwhich comprises selecting plant bacteria and chromatin granules,incubating in an inorganic medium to the point of maximum vegetation,separating the enzymes and chromatin granules, absorbing the resultantproduct in a dry pulverized solid, and drying the product.

8. The method of preparing a bacterial enzyme and chromatin granuleproduct which comprises selecting plant bacteria and chromatin granules,incubating to the point of maximum vegetation, separating the enzymesand chromatin granules, and absorbing about 1250 co. in and drying withsuflicient pulverized solids to yield 5000 grams of a dry product.

9. The method of preparing a bacterial enzyme and chromatin granuleproduct which comprises selecting plant bacteria and chromatin granules,incubating in an inorganic mediuin to the point of maximum vegetation,separating the enzymes and chr0- matin granules, and absorbing about1250 cc. in and drying with suflicient pulverized solids to yield 5000grams of a dry product.

10. The process of treating plants which comprises spraying the plantsat a period of maximum stomata activity with a spray containing a driedplant bacterial enzyme and chromatin granule product.

11. The process of treating plants which comprises spraying the plantswith a spray containing a dried plant bacterial enzyme and chromatingranule product, the concentration of the product in the spray beingadjusted in accordance with the chromatin granule concentration in theplant.

12. The process of treating plants which comprises spraying the plantsat a period of maximum stomata activity with a spray containing a driedplant bacterial enzyme and chromatin granule product, the amount of thespray corresponding to 100 gallons per acre.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CHARLES F. DILLER.

